Anyone given birth at the Royal London Hospital?

[dac123]

hi everyone!
I wanted to see if anybody has given birth at the Royal London Hospital recently? I am booked in for an ELCS in December, but not quite sure about the hospital just yet. So far we are quite happy with the care and the consultant was great!
We were just a bit worried what will happen if baby comes earlier than the planned date?

I gave birth there last month, but it was a vaginal birth after an induction so not sure how relevant my experience will be to yours. It was fine, I had been hoping to go to the Barkantine until it was decided I needed inducing at a very late stage. I found the atmosphere and attitudes very different and very medicalised at the RLH. I wasn't allowed to move around much at all during labour and I was put on my back in stirrups to deliver, despite me asking if I could get into a different position where it was easier to push.

They do tours of the maternity wards on Thursday evenings if you've not been on one yet (I think it was at 5:30pm, the entrance nearest Whitechapel tube station). If you want a private room in post-natal then you need to ask for it at the earliest possible opportunity as they're first come first served. I found the quality of care on the post-natal ward variable, and some of the midwives don't have the warmest of bedside manners.

Thanks for the information felinechatty - it is still very useful for me. I was also wondering what their policies are around epidurals? If requested, would it be given?
Did you manage to get a private room? DH and I would like one and they told us to request one as soon as we come in.

I think they would give you an epidural if requested and if there was time/availability of theatre for it. From the tour, I think they said there were only two surgical theatres on the maternity ward so for non-emergency procedures (which they said would go to general surgery if both rooms were already in use) you'd have to wait until one of the rooms became available for the placement. I didn't want an epidural originally, but because I went from 0 -10cm dilated very quickly, by the time the pain was bad enough that I felt like I wanted one it was time for me to start pushing. I got the feeling that if I'd been less far through labour that it wouldn't have been a problem for me to have on though.

We did manage to get a private room. One came available at just the right time, and we had to stay in for two nights post birth so we were very glad of the private space. Much more comfortable for your husband too if he's planning to stay overnight, they have armchairs that convert to a single bed, whereas the shared bays just have chairs.

Thank you for the info!! Glad you had a quick and relatively pain-less labour. Just to clarify - if they have emergency procedures but two theatres are booked- they send you to general surgery? Or you just wait for them to free up? I always thought anesthesiologist come to your room

The theatres thing was on the tour. They mentioned they had the two rooms for c-sections and placement of epidurals (I'm pretty sure they said this was where it happened and my memories of what they said about me getting an epidural in labour are a bit hazy but it seemed like it was some place other than the delivery room, but I could be wrong). If there is an emergency where someone requires surgery and both rooms were already in use, the person leading the tour said the emergency case would be taken to one of the non-maternity surgical theatres elsewhere in the hospital.

Probably better to ask at your next antenatal appointment. The midwife leading the tour was also doing a session on pain management immediately after, so if you're worried about that then you should get onto that as well.

Thanks felinechatty!

I had three c sections there, one emergency, 2 planned. I think their medical care is generally very good. My last one we were bumped to the last slot, born at 5pm I think. But no they wouldn't do a c section in a general ward. If you go into labour early they will bump you up the ELCS list and move other planned ones back.

hi namechange5575 - thanks for the info, very helpful! We are going on a tour today so will also ask them these questions :)

We did the tour, which was quite informative! Very impressed with the Lotus centre, which has huge rooms. But also re-assured that the delivery suite has quite a few delivery rooms as well, although you have to request an epidural to be moved there.